Belt construction



y 1959 J. J. CARR EIAL BELT CONSTRUCTION Filed April 22, 1957 Ja/m J. Carr John /V. 5c/2eub INVENTOR S ATTORNEYS United States Patent BELT CONSTRUCTION John J. Carr and John N. Scheub, Dallas, Tex. Application April 22, 1957, Serial No. 654,146

2 Claims. (Cl. 2-321) This invention is concerned with a belt construction wherein the ends of the belt are joined together without the use of a buckle or other joinder member engaged with the belt body proper, and there is no attachment member exposed on the outer side of the belt.

The belt construction disclosed herein is particularly useful to mechanics, machinists and other persons who work around machinery in that it eliminates entirely a buckle or other joinder member disposed on the outer side of the belt which could become engaged with the machinery or could mar the surface of the machinery or other equipment by coming into contact therewith.

It is particularly appealing to filling station attendants and automobile mechanics who find it necessary to lean across the body of the automobile in connection with servicing the automobile, or performing repairs thereon. It has been found that belt buckles often scratch the paint on automobiles resulting in dissatisfied customers.

In the belt construction, constituting the subject of this invention, there are no metallic parts or other attachment members disposed on the outer side of the belt, and it presents a perfectly smooth appearance where the belt is joined together about the body of the wearer.

The belt has particular appeal to ladies to be worn with slacks and skirts in that there is no buckle or other visible attachment means to detract from the appearance of the garment.

Although the belt is particularly useful for the class of persons indicated above it will be understood that it is also appealing and attractive to the general public, strictly from an ornamentation standpoint.

Conventional buckles, used to attach the ends of belts, engage the free overlapping end of the belt and hold it in place, either by a pivoted metallic tongue which extends through a hole in the belt and engages the loop of the buckle on the outer side thereof, or by a sliding bar which grips the outer side of the free end of the belt and prevents it from escaping the buckle. In both of these forms the overlapping free end of the belt is tightly gripped by a member extending across the outer side thereof. After a period of wear a permanent crease or line is formed on the outer side of the belt, marring its appearance, and causing it to be discarded.

The attachment means employed in this invention has no buckle or other attachment device which grips the belt body thus eliminating entirely any damage to, or Wear marks on, the belt, thereby rendering the belt long-lasting and maintaining the attractive appearance thereof for a longer period of time.

Another advantageous feature of the belt construction disclosed herein is that there is a separate attachment billet or tongue secured on the back side of the overlapping end of the belt which is concealed from view when the belt is worn so that any wear marks caused by the attachment hook are concealed, and when the billet becomes worn to the extent of needing replacement same may be done by simply detaching it and stitching a new one in place.

8 2,885,685 Patented May 12, 1959 Another advantage of the attachment means employed with this belt construction is that the belt can be made very narrow and still maintain a symmetrical appearance. Narrow belts, employing a conventional buckle, look out of proportion because the buckle is wider than the belt. Narrow belts are particularly attractive to ladies where they are to be worn with slacks and skirts.

Among the objects of this invention are the following:

A belt securing means is provided having no buckle or other attachment means which could come in contact with machinery, automobile bodies or other objects with which the wearer might be required to service, operate, or otherwise come in contact with.

A belt seecuring means is provided which is entirely concealed and protected under the overlapping free end of the belt body.

A belt construction is provided which securely attaches the ends of the belt without marring, or damaging in any manner, the outer surface of the belt body.

A belt construction is provided which is attractive and ornamental.

A belt construction is provided having attachment means which is not engageable in any manner with the free overlapping end of the belt so that the visible portions of the belt are not marred or damaged in any manner by the attachment means.

A belt construction is provided having a separate attachment billet or tongue concealed underneath the overlapping end of the belt so that the wear marks thereon are not visible when worn, and which may be easily replaced when damaged and worn by long use.

A belt construction is provided with concealed attachment means which is adjustable to varying sizes of waists.

A =belt construction is provided having attachment means which is concealed and is relatively small in size so that relatively narrow belts can be provided without affecting the relative proportions between the attachment means and the belt body.

A belt construction is provided which is simple and economical to manufacture.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent by referring to the detailed specification hereinafter following.

The belt construction constituting the subject of this invention is shown in the attached drawing wherein,

Figure I is a perspective view of the belt as it would appear after being joined together at the ends.

Figure II is a perspective view of the opposite ends of the belt showing the hook and billet for attaching the ends of the belt together.

Figure III is a perspective view showing the opposite ends of the belt after the billet has been inserted through the loops and the hook has been engaged with one of the holes in the billet.

Figure IV is a perspective view showing the ends of the belt joined together with the free end of the belt inserted through the loops.

Figure V is a rear perspective view of the hook end of the belt.

Figure VI is a top plan view of the belt with the opposite ends joined together.

Numeral references are employed to indicate the various parts shown in the drawings and like numerals indicate like parts throughout the various figures of the drawings.

In the drawings the numeral 1 indicates generally the belt body which may be made of leather, plastic, fabric or other suitable material. Attached to one end of the belt body is a metallic hook member 2 which is secured to the belt body by means of suitable brads 2a. The loops 3 (of which there may be one or a plurality) are secured about the belt body by means of a leather strap 4;"which is secured'to the'back side of the belt body 1 "b meansofsuita'bIebrads '5. "'Ihehuok' portion 2b of the hook member 2 extends outwardly from the front rsideaoi the belt body so that it may be engaged. through one o'ftheholes.'9"in"theftongue 7,'-withthe tonguei7. in overlying; contacting relationship Ito the belt body 1.

The other; orfree end '6; of the belt'body has a billet oritongue' 7, 'preferably made o'fithesame material as the body. 1,the'inner .end of which tongueis attached on the inner side of the'belt body 'byimeans of stitching 8,. and the outer end of'the tongue 7 beingfree of attachment 'to'the'belt bo'dyl. The'tongue'7 has a plurality of spaced -holes 9 formed'thereinfor the purpose' of adjustingthe belt to different size waists.

To attachthebelfabout "the "body of the wearer the tongue 7 is insertedthrough the '-loops' Sand'the' hook 2b is engaged with the 'appropriatehole'9 in'the tongue l-7, as shown 'in Figure :III. The'freeend '6 of the belt 'b'o'dy'is then insertedthroughtheloopslS to overlie the tongue 7 in the mannerindicated in Figure VI. The belt will'then have .the appearance indicated in Figures I and 'IV,with"no buckleor other attachment part viewable .irom the exterior, .or which could come in contact with surrounding objects.

There are no protrusions underneath thefree :end of thebelt which could cause protuberances viewable from the exterior; and there aretno-attachment parts attached to, or gripping,'the overlapping "end 6 of the belt which couldmar or damage it. 'Thus the'appearance of'the belt is maintained for an 'extended'length of time, and a. secure attachmentis provided.

It'will be notedthat whenthe hooklb is engaged with the appropriate hole 9 in the'tongue 7,. the tongue 'overlies the hook end of the beltandthe free end :6 of the belt overlies the tongue when the free end is inserted 'through'the loops 3.

hook member Zmay be :made relatively small and the belt may be made very narrowgtheonljr limitations on the narrownessiof the belt being that the tongue 7 must be wide enough to provide holes 9'therein and the belt must be slightly wider than the tongue to conceal the tongue and hook.

The only part of the belt subject to wear by contact with the attachment means is the tongue 7' and such tongue can be easily replaced by simply removing the stitches 8 and stitching another tongue to the belt body.

It Will be seen that we have provided attachment means for a belt which is completely concealed from view, which does not engage or grip the belt body, which does not mar or damage the belt body and which exposes no buckle or other attachment part on the outer side of the belt to cause damage to objects with which the wearer mightrcome in contact.

It willbe understood that other and further forms of the invention might be devised and still remain within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Having described our invention, We claim:

1. A belt construction comprising an integral one piece body of pliable material, a hook attached to one end of the body and extending outwardly with reference'to the .outer side thereof; an integral one piece tongue of pliable materialhaving a plurality of holes therein, and having one. end thereof attached to the inner side ofthe body in spaced relationship to the otherend of the body,.sa.id

tongue having a free end extending from the inner side ofthe body and terminating short of the end of the body;

at least one loop attached to the body adjacent the. hook and extending outwardly thereof in position to receive the tongue; the said hook being arranged to extend through one of the holes in the tongue from the inner side of the tongue when the tongue is inserted through the loop toioverlie the body; the free end of the body adjacent the tongue being arranged to be inserted through the loop to overlie the tongue.

2. The construction called for in claim 1 wherein the hook extends beyond the end of the body.

- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 421,326 Sternberg Feb. 11,-1890 764,999 Gallert July 12, 1904 1,479,150 :Mellus Jan. 1, 1924 

